Sugar Cubes and Fire
by SarcasticChoices
Summary: When Peeta dies in the arena, Katniss has to cope and survive without him, she just wants to go home. However President Snow has other plans for her, knowing that she will do anything to protect Prim. When she suddenly finds herself having a lot in common with Finnick, they begin to grow close. Can they save each other? Will President Snow win? Can sugar and fire really mix?


**Hi! Thank you for checking out this story. The idea is that Peeta is dead, and that Katniss has to survive without him, President Snow plans to sell her and she has to deal with it. She then begins to understand Finnick. Please enjoy!**

"Trust me," I whisper. He holds my gaze for a long moment then lets go. I loosen the top of the pouch and pour a few spoonfuls of berries into his palm. Then I fill my own. "On the count of three?"

Peeta leans down and kisses me once, very gently. "The count of three." he says.

Then the berries disappear. They vanish from our hands, the game makers won't allow it.

"Damn it! No!" I shout at the sky. Couldn't they let us have to die?

"Katniss, it's okay. They have to have a victor. I think I always knew that. It's going to be you. I have nothing. No one will miss me,"

" That's not true! Don't say that! I would miss you! You can't leave me! No!

"You wouldn't be on your own, You have your mother, and Prim. And Gale and his family. I don't have that. No one would miss me. I couldn't live without you. If you die, I don't have anything to go back to, you do." Peeta leans closer to me and kisses my cheek and then my lips. "Good bye, Katniss, I love you, I always have and always will. Go live for me. Live enough for the both of us.

He bends down and picks up the knife he had thrown to the ground earlier. And drives it straight through his heart. A cannon goes off, but I'm not sure I even hear it.

"Peeta! No! Peeta! Don't! You can't! You promised! Peeta!" Sobs wracked my body. "Peeta! Peeta! No!" I'm on the ground trying desperately to find a pulse. "Come on! Peeta! No!"

Overhead a voice booms all around,

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I am pleased to present the victor of the Seventy-fourth Hunger Games, Katniss Everdeen!"

"She should waking up out of her stupor soon enough," a gruff voice states.

"Do you think it will happen to her?"

"Honestly? There's no way it won't. She volunteered for her sister, she was willing to die to protect, she will agree to it and he knows it. Hell, he will probably use her just as much as you."

"Dear god, I hope not. She is so innocent."

It takes a moment for me to gain the strength to push open my eyelids, and to sleepily mumble, "Haymitch? What's going on?" I glance down at myself. I am wearing a hospital gown and have an IV needle sticking out of my arm.

"Sweetheart, you did. You survived. You're going home." He states softly, looking down at me with a guarded expression, almost like he is waiting for me to, it comes flooding back. The arena. Rue and me singing to her, me killing Marvel, Shooting the arrow at Cato. And then Peeta driving the knife into his chest. Tears well up in my eyes and burst out instantaneously.

"Peeta! He's dead! I killed him!"

"No, sweetheart, you didn't kill him." Haymitch says, fighting tears himself, "It wasn't your fault."  
"Yes, yes it was! He drove a knife into his chest so that I could live! He did for me! I killed him."  
"No, you said it your self, he killed himself." Haymitch states. I just continue to sob. Tears cloud my vision. But through the haziness I make out another figure.

"Who is that?" I ask, my voice breaking.

"Finnick Odair, he was here to check on you." Haymitch says, as if that explains why the capitol's sex toy is standing in the room.

"I'm sorry this happened to you," Finnick says. "I was her for the games and wanted to offer my condolences for your district partner. I'm sure you and I will be seeing more of each other." With that, he walks out of the room.

"Tomorrow is your interview, and the replay of the games, you should eat something before you go back to sleep, you are going to need it."

I am seated in a chair and freaking out. Mentally, I am losing it. I watch Rue die, and myself shoot Marvel. It doesn't even register that it is me, I am the one killing. My face remains stoic, I show no emotion. But, then the tape gets to the ending. Peeta fills the screen. Proclaiming his love for me and then he kills himself. I face becomes tight, tears searing at the back of my eyes, but none escape. I can't let any. Everyone is clapping and cheering. It's now time for the interview.

"So, Katniss," Caesar starts, "What was going through your mind, in those final moments?"  
"I- I was trying to figure out a way to save both of us. I didn't want to let him die. I shouldn't have let him die." He nods, with sad look on his face.

"I'm sure you are excited to go home, to see your sister. What's the first thing you are going to say to her?" He asks sincerely, trying to help me out and divert me from the fact the Peeta is dead.

"I'm going to hug her and tell her that I love her." I say, trying imagine what going home will be like, going back to normalcy after, after this. The interview continues and I answer to the best of my ability trying not to crawl into the chair and start sobbing. Somehow I manage, and soon President Snow is moving towards me, slithering like a mutant, very slowly, he reaches for the victor's crown and places it upon my head. It feels wrong, like a curse, like I have been branded as his.

"Congratulations, Miss Everdeen." He says, the smell of blood and roses seeming to ooze from his breath. I nod to him in response.

"Can we go now?", I ask Haymitch, ready to get away from the fake atmosphere of the capitol.

"President Snow has requested a meeting with you before your departure," Effie says, answering for him. I tense up immediately. Anything that President Snow wants with me, can't be good. In fact chances are it's going to be horrific. Haymitch has paled and is looking at Effie with a bizarre look on his face. He mumbles something under his breath and Effie leads me to the President's office.

"Here you are dear," Effie says and looks at me expectantly. I knock on the door and his slimy voice say to enter. I slowly open the door and shuffle inside, dreading any words that may come from his mouth.

"Have a seat Miss Everdeen." He states. I sit down in the chair.

"I have, ah, some tasks for you. I'm sure you are quite aware that most my victors spend lots of time in the capitol, at least the attractive ones do." I nod at him.

"Well, lets just say we have business deals. They meet with my clients, and their families live, and the money some of the money made is put into the sponsor accounts. I have quite a lot of buyers interested in you. Your body becomes mine, and I will sell it as I please." I look at him in horror, words of refusal ready to spring from my lips.

"Ah, before you say anything, you might want to consider your family. It would be tragic, if your cousin were to be in mining accident, or for your sister to become deathly clumsy. If you wish to keep them alive, you might want to consider the words that come our your mouth.

"I'll do it. I'll do it!" I screech.

"I knew you would see logic, your first appointment will be on the victory tour, I will let you know when with a phone call or a letter. And be aware, if I receive any complaints about your performance, well, lets just say a tragic mine explosion might occur. Do not tell any of your family about this." I nod at him and then rush out of the room. I find Effie waiting for me, and she leads me to the train. As soon as we get on the train, I head straight to my car, not wanting to see anyone. I'm going to have to have sex with anyone that wants to pay for it. I'm going to wreck marriages and homes. Oh my god. What Gale finds out? My little duck? They will be crushed. I know I can't tell them. I'm going to have to be in the Capitol for a lot of time and pretend that I enjoy it, I'm going to have to lie to family. What am I going to do?

"Katniss? Are you in there?" Haymitch's voice rings through the door. "Are you okay?" I open the door and look at him, do I look okay?

"What did Snow want?" He asks me apprehensively. I don't even manage to control my emotions, I just burst into tears.

"Oh sweetheart, I'm sorry. I wish I could have prevented this."

"Did you do this?" I ask him through my sobs.

"No, my games were a quarter quell as well. When it came down to it, there was two of us left. We were both bleeding, but earlier on, I has found the edge and there was a force field. Anything that was thrown into the force field came right back up. The girl through an axe at my head and I ducked, it went over the cliff and then back up into her head. I outsmarted the capitol, I made them look stupid. Within a week of me being home, my whole family and girlfriend were dead. So when Snow tried to threaten me, I said no. There wasn't anyone else that I cared about."

"Who else? Who else bought into it?"

"Finnick Odair. The boy had no chance. He had two years, because he won his games at fourteen but as soon as he turned sixteen he was being sold. Johanna Mason was also sold, for a little while at least. Then she stopped. She refuse to go. Her whole family is dead now. Some of the victors from districts one and two. But honestly the most popular victors right now are, Finnick and You."

"You knew, didn't you? You knew this would happen?" I ask him, my voice shaking.

"You volunteered for your sister, you were willing to die for her, you would do anything to protect her. It made you an easy target, Snow knew you would agree. And even if he kills off a member of your family, he knows that you won't stop unless he kills them all. It's not going to be easy. I'm sorry that I was right. I would have given anything to be wrong." I just turned over on my bed and buried my face into the pillow, not wanting to deal with any of this.

**Hope you liked it, I almost cried when writing the scene where Peeta dies. Review and tell me what you thought.**

**And if you saw Catching Fire PM me, I would love to discuss how freaking amazing Sam Clafin was as Finnick.**


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